Role of the father

• Bowlby believed fathers should provide economic support rather than emotional

  Evidence suggests fathers are less likely to become pcg, Schaffer and Emerson found on 3% of babies had fathers as their sole pcg, however, by 18months, 75% of babies formed attachment with fathers
• Grossman - carried out a longitudinal study where babies attachments were studied into their teens.

    - research looked at both parents behaviour and its relationship to the quality of their babies later attachment, the mothers attachment shows more of an imapct than fathers. however, quality of fathers play was related to attachment quality, suggests fathers role is more to do with play and stimulation.
• Father as primary attachment- field filmed 4month babies in face-to-face interactions with pcg mothers, pcg fathers and scg fathers. Pcg fathers and mothers acted very similarly, suggesting father has potential to be the emotionally focused caregiver.
• A limitation is there is confusion over the research question. Research looking at father as a secondary attachment figure found that fathers behave differently to mothers, research looking at father as a primary attachment figure found fathers can take on the maternal role, this makes it difficult to answer the question of what is the role of the father as it depends on the viewpoint.
• A limitation is that there is conflicting evidence, grossman found secondary attachment, fathers, have a distinct role of play and stimulation, so we expect fatherless children to grow differently, but studies consistently show there’s no difference in children if they had a father or not. This may be because parents in single mother and lesbian households may adapt to accommodate the role taken on by the father.
• strength is it’s real world application, it can offer advice to parents. Mothers and fathers may feel pressured to follow their stereotypical roles, but this may not always be the best financial choice, research into role of the father can offer reassuring advice to parents that fathers can take on the role of the primary figure and families without a father won’t affect a child’s development.